


The Truth about Mom and Dad

by chimaeracabra



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:47:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26152888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chimaeracabra/pseuds/chimaeracabra
Summary: Bucky's teenage daughter discovers a secret about her mother's past involving her parent's relationship.
Relationships: Bucky/Daughter, Bucky/ofc, Bucky/original female character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	The Truth about Mom and Dad

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Secrets Aren't for Keeping](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2799851) by [chimaeracabra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chimaeracabra/pseuds/chimaeracabra). 



> I don't know why I write these. I don't know...I just always daydream about being this family...

Bucky’s baseball game is interrupted by his daughter walking hastily into the den on Saturday at noon with wide eyes. He immediately glances up at her as she rushes towards him. She’s clutching something in both her hands, and the look on her face has Bucky worried. Her brown roots have come in a significant amount, to her mother’s relief, the disheveled hair just past her waist now.

“Peanut?” he says, muting the TV, “What’s wrong?” he asks. As far as he knew, she was sleeping in like she normally did on a Saturday, but he hadn’t heard her get up around 11AM and go into the attic. He glances at what appears to be a frame in her hands, which are shaking slightly. She turns the frame around and Bucky’s heart just about leaps out of his chest. He reaches for the frame as if to hide it from her, but he pauses. It’s clear she has already seen this.

“D—daddy? Are…are you really my dad?” she asks, her voice shaky. If Bucky didn’t know any better, he would have thought that the sixteen-year-old was terrified. He stands slowly and tries to take the picture frame from her, but she pulls it back.

“Tell me,” she says, her eyes watering suddenly. Bucky sighs. He knew this day would probably come.

“Look at me, peanut.” He gently grips Christina’s chin and stares down into her eyes for several seconds before he leads her into the hallway, by the front door, where there stands a mirror on the wall in which Christina and Cherise often checked their hair before stepping out of the house in the morning. Though her hair is still dyed blonde, there’s no mistaking her nose, her eyebrows, her small chin cleft, to be from Bucky’s own genes.

“Now, look at you,” he says, grinning without teeth. Christina gazes in the reflection from her father to Bucky, and back and forth again. Bucky takes the moment to pry the frame from her hands. Christina sighs. He knew that one day he might have to explain this to his children. So, he guides Christina back into the den and has her sit on the couch. He sits beside her, gently placing the frame on the coffee table. Christina stares at a photo of her mother and Steve kissing, the white dress different from the one she’s wearing in one of the frames on the TV stand where she’s kissing Bucky.

“You’re _my_ daughter, Stina,” Bucky reassures her, “You know that,” he giggles, trying to ease the mood, “Didn’t you dye your hair so you could try to look _less_ like me?” he cocks an eyebrow. Christina blushes madly and looks away from him. He rubs her shoulders.

“You’re mine and your mother’s daughter. I promise you.”

“…But…so…so…” she picks up the photo again and stares at it, “But, I could have been…I mean, _uncle Steve could have been my dad_?!”

“Stina.” Bucky presses a finger to his lips, glancing in the direction of the stairs, praying that Theo is still fast asleep with his bedroom door closed.

“Not so loud, baby.”

Cherise is at the grocery store, so Bucky is a little disappointed that he has to have this conversation with his daughter without his wife.

“Why?” she asks, just as loudly. Bucky places a hand firmly on her shoulder.

“Listen, baby, you’re old enough that we can talk about this. You’re almost seventeen. But your brother…he might not understand so easily—”

“He’s _eleven_ , dad. He’s not an idiot.”

“I didn’t say that, Stina. It’s just…this is something I was hoping you and your brother would never have to find out about.” Bucky sighs, pushing a hand through his hair.

“Okay, daddy. I won’t tell him,” Christina promises, lowering her voice.

“Please…tell me what happened. Was mom _really_ married to uncle Steve?”

“Yes, peanut. She was. Now, I want you to understand that this has nothing to do with you—you weren’t born yet, okay?”

“Okay…”

“Well…I don’t know how much you remember about what I told you. About what I used to do. What I was forced to do. When I was captured during the war all those decades ago.”

“You were a spy. The Russians took you and brainwashed you to be a spy, right?”

“Something like that…I did _a lot_ of bad things, peanut. I…I wasn’t in my right mind. Your uncle Steve, he saw me die. Or so he thought. I was held captive for a long, long time, made to fight on the wrong side…well, your uncle and me, we have always been like brothers. You know, not by blood, but in here,” Bucky explains, placing a hand over his heart a moment.

“Your uncle Steve never gave up on trying to find me. And eventually he did. Him and auntie Natasha, uncle Sam, everyone was a team on the side of the U.S. They found me, they got my mind back together,” Bucky explains, tapping his temple. He was always careful not to tell Christina detail about the murders, that he was an assassin. But he knew that his daughter wasn’t stupid. There was no way she didn’t figure this out on her own if she was going through things in the attic in her spare time with neither of her parents knowing.

“So, I came back here and your uncle took care of me. I didn’t have _anything_. No apartment of my own, no belongings. Nothing. Your uncle was there for me the most…And, at the time, your mother was engaged to him…”

Bucky steals a glance at his daughter. He has never seen her this intent on listening to him (if only she would listen to him quite like this when he tells her she needs to learn how to merge better in traffic!) It causes his heart to skip beats a few times. But he turns to face her more fully, looks her in the eyes, they’re his eyes. And for a moment, he feels as though he’s speaking to a younger version of himself, in the form of a beautiful teenage girl.

“When he first introduced me to your mother, I fell in love with her immediately. _Immediately_ ,” Bucky repeats, reminiscing. The corners of Christina’s lips turn up and her eyes glaze over, her cheeks reddening. He smiles for a handful of seconds before continuing.

“It was Christmas…she was still engaged to your uncle. I remember it like it was yesterday, ‘cause I couldn’t take my eyes off of her…I had seen a lot of women in my day. But your mother…” Bucky’s heart does backflips, “Anyway, it was Christmas. Your mother had invited me, some of your other aunts and uncles, to hers and Steve’s. She cooked this elaborate meal. I hadn’t had a home cooked meal since before I almost died in World War Two…I remember your mother’s dress caught fire when I was in the kitchen talking to her, so I rushed over and put it out with my hand,” Bucky explains, raising his shiny palm. A faraway look overtakes him, and Christina is convinced that her father can no longer see her. He’s watching this memory on a reel in his brain. The look on his face is so goofy and smitten that she wants to laugh, but she can’t. She always thought it was cute how much her parents were still head over heels for each other. All of her friends had parents who were divorced or going through divorces.

“Baby, I tried. I _tried_ so hard not to, but I kissed her one day. I think we were at the gym together, your uncle Steve, me, and your mom. Your uncle got called away on a mission, and he wanted me to take her home. I got stupid and I kissed her, and she just left me there,” Bucky laughs. “And I’m pretty sure she didn’t tell Steve, ‘cause I think he woulda killed my ass…anyway…things kinda got…serious.” He makes eye contact with Christina again. “Your mom and Steve got married, but they fought a lot. Because your uncle didn’t want to stop going on missions, riskin’ his life all the time. I wasn’t doing that kinda thing anymore, and I was really just always around. Your mother would come to me crying sometimes, after she fought with your uncle. She was always so worried about him. She thought that I was the only person who could talk sense into your uncle. Sometimes, I don’t think he really listened to her, what she needed from him. That pissed me off…And one day, I kissed her again. And then we…well…” Bucky clears his throat. Christina places the photo back on the coffee table.

“Right there in your uncle’s old apartment—”

“Dad! Eww! T-M-I,” Christina explains, shaking her head. Bucky blushes. He hadn’t meant to go into that level of detail.

“Wait…so…mom _cheated_ on Captain America?” Christina asks with disbelief. Bucky places a finger to his lips again and she nods, lowering her voice, “she _cheated_ on Captain America?”

“Stina, neither of us were exactly proud of it…it just…happened. But I know now why it had to. You wouldn’t be here right now if I hadn’t let her into that apartment. If I had kept my distance. I’m not proud of what that did to your uncle. And neither is your mom—”

“Wait, you got mom pregnant with me when she was still _married to uncle Steve_ —?”

“No, no, no,” Bucky explains hastily, “No. That didn’t happen. You didn’t come along until a couple of years later,” he nods, “See, I sorta…I couldn’t stay away from your mom. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. And neither could your mother. She loved your uncle, very much. Neither of us wanted to hurt him. But sometimes, love just happens, and you can’t stop it from happening. When your uncle found out, he was very angry. I thought he would never forgive me. It took some time for our relationship to recover. But see, the thing was, he was having an affair with your aunt Natasha at some point. And I caught him. But I couldn’t bear to tell him that your mom and I were havin’ an affair _too_. In fact,” Bucky furrows his eyebrows, everything coming back to him, “I tried to tell your mom that something was going on between Steve and Natasha, but she thought I was lying to her to get her to break up with him and be with me. Well, eventually the truth came out ‘cause your uncle caught me and your mom kissing.”

“What did he do?”

“…”

“Dad, what happened?” Christina begs.

“He beat my ass pretty good, but I’m sure I got in a punch or two. I let him hit me ‘cause I knew I deserved it for goin’ after his wife. But please don’t ever tell your uncle that.”

Christina laughs lightly.

“And then your mom and I got together, she and uncle Steve divorced. But they stayed on good terms. He still cared about us both, and we cared about him. And he and auntie Natasha were together, she got pregnant with your cousin James, and they tied the knot. Your mother and I got married. The rest is history.”

Christina collapses back against the couch and Bucky laughs heartily. Her little mind is blown and he knows it. He pushes a hand through her hair and sighs. She looks at him like he’s a stranger, and he’s not exactly sure how he feels.

“Yuh really thought for a minute that you weren’t my child?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow, “Have yuh seen yourself, peanut?” Christina rolls her eyes and he laughs again.

“I dunno,” she mumbles.

“’Cause how would that even make sense? Did you think your mom wasn’t your mom?”

Christina shrugs.

“How come you even found that photo?” Bucky asks her.

Christina pulls her feet up out of her slippers and hugs her knees.

“I was just curious what mom’s wedding dress looked like. The actual dress. I remember she said it was in the attic and that I could try it on someday. And…I just wanted to see it. I saw some boxes with her name on them in the attic and I started looking through stuff. First, I thought the wedding photos where she was with uncle Steve were just from _your_ wedding, but then I found _that one_ ,” Christina explains, looking at the coffee table where once again he can see Cherise kissing Steve, his hands on her hips and her hands on his shoulders.

“Why would she keep that? It’s kinda weird,” Christina explains, looking at Bucky with inquisitiveness.

“Like I said, she and I still care a lot about your uncle. Wedding photos aren’t exactly something you just throw away. Even if it doesn’t work out,” Bucky explains, “Besides. Your mother hasn’t looked at these photos in a very long time. I don’t know if she even still knows they’re up there. I didn’t realize they were still in the attic.”

“Well, dad…this is weird.” Christina stares uninterestedly at the TV screen ahead and Bucky chuckles again. He reaches for the photo.

“Can we put this back where you found it?” he asks. She looks at him a long moment.

“Or did you want to hear the story from mom? Do you not believe me?”

Christina smiles, “I believe you, daddy…I just wonder why you and mom never told me any of this.”

“Well, as you just learned, it’s kinda a weird conversation to have with your children.”

“I guess…I’m not sure I’ll ever look at uncle Steve the same way.”

“Nothing has to change, peanut. You just know now. Your aunt and uncle love you. They love your mom and I like siblings.”

“I guess,” she shrugs again.

Bucky stands, holding the photo.

“Why don’t you show me mumma’s wedding dress? Did you find it?” he asks. She smiles, shaking her head. He follows Christina up the stairs.

“What made you start lookin’ for that dress? Mom just recently told you that you could try it on?” he asks, thinking that maybe it was something the pair discussed on their girl’s night out the previous Friday.

“Yeah.”

He notices a bounce in Christina’s step as she hurries into the attic.

“I think you’re about your mother’s height when I married her in that dress. It would probably fit you now,” he explains. Christina shows him to the box where she had found the photo before hurrying to something near the attic window. He hears the sound of unzipping as he pushes the flaps of the box back in, and when he looks up, there’s a flash of pearly white, ignited by the sun’s gaze, Christina’s smile magnifying it. Suddenly, he’s glad that his daughter happened upon that photo. He’s swept into the memory of his and Cherise’s first dance when Christina pulls the gown out of its case.


End file.
